Discussion Assignment 2

Small Group Discussion

You will be assigned a group for an on-line discussion. You are expected to respond to your group members and to discuss your assigned article. Each group will be given a choice of articles to read and discuss.

The total of your participation in a single discussion board question (topic) will be graded on a ten point scale.

Here is the protocol for posting and contributing to an online discussion:

You are expected to participate on at least 3 different days.

	Excellent 2 points	Good 1.5 points	Acceptable 1 point	Unacceptable .5-0 pts
Initial Posting	Posting demonstrated in-depth understanding of the topic and presented an idea convincingly and advanced discussion through a question Post identifies and defines 2 vocabulary words from the reading.	Posting demonstrated understanding of the topic and presented an idea with ease; and advanced discussion through a question Post does not identify or define relevant vocabulary form article	Posting demonstrated some understanding of the topic but repeated ideas already posted does not add substance to the discussion.	The posting is off topic or irrelevant to discussion.
References/ Support	Post was well supported with several relevant facts or examples from reading or personal experience.	Post was adequately supported with relevant facts or examples from reading or experience.	Post was supported with some facts or examples, but the relevance of some was questionable.	Post included no reference or supporting experience.
Follow-up postings	All replies were accurate, relevant and strong demonstrating analysis of other posts extending meaningful discussion by building on previous posts.	Most replies were accurate and relevant, elaborating on previous posts with further comment or observation.	Replies agreed or disagreed but did not enrich discussion.	Did not reply or respond to other posts.
Clarity and Mechanics	Postings contributed to discussion with clear concise comments in an easy to read style free of grammatical and spelling errors.	Postings contribute valuable information to discussion with minor clarity, grammatical or spelling errors.	Postings communicate in a friendly, courteous and helpful manner with some errors in clarity, grammar and/or spelling.	- Postings are long, unorganized or off topic. - Postings were inappropriate or rude. - Postings used poor grammar or "chat room" style writing.
Frequency	Participates at least 4 times, responding to at least 3 different members. Initial post is made early in the week with replies later in the week.	Participates at least 3 times, responding to at least 2 different members.	Participates at least 2 times, responding to at least 2 different members.	Participates not at all. Does not post or fails to reply to other posts.

Format for assignment

I. Find your assigned group discussion thread. Respond to your assigned post. As part of your initial post you should include three things:
A. A short summary and your personal thoughts about the article. This should be one or two paragraphs, 125 to 150 words long. Some prompts to get you started:
1. What issues does this article raise? What is your position on the issue?
2. From everything in the article what is the most important?
3. What does this article make you wonder about?
B. Identify and define TWO vocabulary words from the article. Find words that are important for understanding the main idea of the article.
C. Pose a question that can start a meaningful discussion at the end of your post
II. Read posts from other members of your assigned group and respond to each member at least two times. Remember this is to be a DISCUSSION so give your personal insight, ask additional questions to keep the discussion going, share links to relevant information and look for connections between your article and the “REAL WORLD”.

Groups

Block 2	Block 4
Group 1 Atilano, Nemorio Brissette, Brittany Cook, Tiffany Holst, Kaylee Parham, Yesmine Lobdell, Jahmal	Group 5 Beatty, Atha Beltran, Andrew Bennett, Rosetta Brackney, Alejandro Kunz, Jarvis J
Group 2 Marin, Kasara Minich, Erica Norris, Jeanette Pike, Damian Lee, Tyquisha Ramirez, Anthony	Group 6 Dowery, Donyea Fuller, Desirae Garcia, Cristobal Gutierrez, Anthony Gutierrez, Miguel
Group 3 Ruffalo, Lauriann Schmidt, Melissa Sell, Ryan J Shepard, Marqanette Starling, Samantha	Group 7 Hosin, Trent J Lott, Terry Anna Mack, Candace Martinez, Morgan Cochran, Kyle
Group 4 Stewart, Joseph Styles, James Tatro, Christina Valladares, Cristal Whiteside, Rocky Williams, Dimitrius	Group 8 Rios, Giovanni Sandberg, Rachel Schilling, Hawke Williams, Sasha Woods, Kimberly L